‘As soon as I could speak I was singing,’ says Jette Parker Young ArtistRachel Kelly. Beginning by singing anything and everything she enjoyed, from French folk songs to Disney, it wasn't until she began voice training at 14 that Rachel discovered her raison d'être: ‘When I went to my first opera, Tosca, with my mum I was utterly inspired to pursue an operatic career.’

Rachel had no hesitation about her desired path, ‘No matter where I was living in the world, I would have applied to be a Jette Parker Young Artist because it’s such an amazing, prestigious programme. Aside from offering coaching whenever you want it, you also get the opportunity to understudy main roles. I've just finished covering the role of Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and I've also had the immense pleasure of singing some supporting roles of my own on the main stage. It's an amazing introduction for a young singer - I once spoke to Janet Baker, and she told me that it's so different now because people leaving educational institutions are expected to be perfect. But you can only really learn through experience.’

Now in her second year of the programme, Rachel has already performed in Parsifal, Carmen, Manon and I due Foscari on the Covent Garden main stage, alongside some of the world's most renowned and respected opera singers.

‘One of my favourite roles out of those I’ve performed was Mercedes in Carmen. It was the most involved thing I’d done here up to that point, and I got to sing alongside Roberto Alagna, which was a dream come true.’

Looking to the future, Rachel has her eyes firmly set on a number of exciting and challenging roles: ‘I'd love to sing Angelina from Rossini’s La Cenerentola and Rosina from Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia. But my dream role is Mélisande from Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande - the music is absolutely divine and completely entrancing. I'd love to follow in the footsteps of another Irish mezzo - Ann Murray. She is an incredible artist and I feel I am similar to her in that she has that unusual soprano timbre in the upper register of her voice. She's a real inspiration.’

For now though, Rachel is preparing for her upcoming roles in the Royal Opera House, which include Flora in La traviata and Zaida in Il Turco in Italia, as well as understudying Jenny in Mahagonny. More pressingly, she's involved in Michael Boyd’s new staging of Monteverdi’s Orfeo, in which she will play Pluto's queen, Proserpina:

'It's a really interesting production to be working on. Michael ran the Royal Shakespeare Company, and it’s a rare opportunity to collaborate with an esteemed director who comes from a non-operatic background. As well as the principal cast, and also a chorus comprised of Guildhall School of Music and Drama students, the production features young dancers aged between 12 and 17. Their enthusiasm is infectious and it's wonderful to see them creating these amazing tableaux.’

The character of Proserpina is complex, offering Rachel a chance to exhibit her acting abilities:

'She was stolen from Earth by Pluto and enslaved by him, made to become his wife, and forced to spend half the of the year in the Underworld - a catalyst for the onset of winter. For obvious reasons the marriage is less than blissful for both parties, a fact that becomes a bargaining chip for Proserpina later in the opera when she pleads on Orfeo's behalf by offering to submit fully to Pluto's will in exchange for the freedom of Eurydice - Orfeo's new wife who has recently died. Proserpina is moved to pity by Orfeo's unfaltering devotion to both his music and his wife.

'From a historical and artistic perspective, since Orfeo is the earliest surviving opera that is still regularly performed, it is exciting and enriching to see and hear opera's early formation and to be involved in recreating that magic for a contemporary audience'.

Orfeo runs 13–24 January 2015 at the Roundhouse. Limited numbers of tickets are available from the Royal Opera House and Roundhouse websites. The production is a new collaboration between the Roundhouse and The Royal Opera.

‘Rossini was very strict about his music and this is one of the problems we have nowadays because it’s so difficult to perform,’ says conductor Mark Elder. ‘In Rossini’s music there is no fat, there’s nothing you can hide behind. It’s either perfect or it’s disappointing.’

‘The first quality of Verdi’s operas is drama; Donizetti’s is charm and beautiful melodies; with Rossini, it is rhythm,’ explains Elder. ‘The rhythms in his music seem to be more important than anything else. That’s not to say he didn’t write beautiful melodies or wonderful ensembles, but everything that everybody does is powered by the sense of rhythms. They have to crackle.’

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Audiences have the chance to hear world-class musicians in a more intimate setting with our programme of free lunchtime recitals, which take place most Mondays in the Crush Room, Linbury Studio Theatre or the Paul Hamlyn Hall.

The performances form an important part of the Jette Parker Young Artists programme. A very different experience to performing on the expansive main stage, they help the Young Artists to perfect the intimate craft of giving recitals.

The next JPYA recital will be on 7 April and will see mezzo-soprano Rachel Kelly perform a programme that includes works by Purcell, Debussy and Strauss in the Crush Room. Rachel is currently performing in Kasper Holten’s production of Cavalli’s L’Ormindo at the Sam Wanamaker Theatre, and was previously due to perform in March. However, a rehearsal clash meant that former Young Artists Susana Gaspar (2011-2013) and ZhengZhong Zhou (2010-2012) had to step in with just one week’s notice.

‘It was a great pleasure to sing again at the Royal Opera House with a great soprano, my good friend Susana,’ says ZhengZhong. ‘It reminded me a lot of the many memories I have of the JPYA Programme. I really miss the London audiences and the opera house!’

'Although it was a last minute recital, I enjoyed every moment of it,' adds Susana. 'To sing in the Crush Room again, for a lovely audience and with two very special friends and colleagues was more than I could ask for!'

‘Singing in recital gives you a chance to re-invent the best poetry and music in the world by adding your own interpretation and ideas to it,’ said Luis. ‘The work you do on the music and the texts is similar to when you are preparing for an opera on stage, but you are much more exposed in recital and you have less help and support. You are your own director and so it is a big challenge to bring out the full potential of the poetry and music.’

The lunchtime recitals offer Young Artists the chance to learn repertory of their choice with some of the world’s top vocal, language and stagecraft coaches. Earlier this Season, Jette Parker Principal Jihoon Kim, accompanied by former Young Artist Jean-Paul Pruna and six Korean musicians, performed a programme based on Korean art songs, including traditional Korean costumes and instruments.

‘It was very special for me to be able to show my Korean musical background and to introduce traditional Korean music, instruments and costumes to a British audience,’ he said. ‘I have previously given two recitals of European music as a Jette Parker Young Artist, but to have presented a traditional Korean recital in Europe is a dream come true.’

‘Singing in recital provides a more intimate and direct relationship with the audience than performing on the operatic stage. Without the support of an orchestra, costumes and staging, you’re completely reliant on communication of the text to engage the listener,’ he said. ‘Such performances enhance our skills as storytellers and allow us to experiment with a wide range of vocal colours, a flexibility that’s not always practical on the main stage.’

The lunchtime recitals take place in the Crush Room, Linbury Studio Theatre or the Paul Hamlyn Hall. They are free to attend and tickets can be reserved online up to nine days before the concert. However, although advance tickets are often sold out, tickets are available in person on the day.

The Jette Parker Young Artists Programme supports the artistic development of young professional singers, conductors, directors and répétiteurs. The Young Artists are an international group of outstanding professionals at the start of their careers who have undertaken formal training and have already worked with professional companies. They are not students, but contracted, salaried employees of the Royal Opera House, who work here full-time over two years.